STATE TIMES NEWS
DODA: In response to tragic road mishap in Doda, Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Ramesh Kumar on Thursday visited the accident site at Assar to take first-hand evaluation of the road condition.
Panel set up to probe bus accident
Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir administration has setup a three-member panel to probe the circumstance leading to the bus accident in Doda district even as one more passenger succumbed to injuries, taking the death toll in the incident to 39, officials said Thursday.
The bus skidded off the road and rolled down into a 300-foot gorge in Doda district on Wednesday.
Twenty injured passengers were admitted to a hospital where one of them succumbed to injuries late Wednesday night.
Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar said a committee has been constituted to inquire into the circumstances leading to the accident near Assar in Doda district.
The committee shall inquire into the incident and furnish a detailed inquiry report to his office within a week, officer said.
The members of the committee are Dr Ravi Kumar Bharti, additional district magistrate (ADM), Doda, superintending engineer and assistant road transport officer. Locals have blamed frequent accidents in the area to bad conditions of roads in the district coupled with rash driving and overloading of vehicles.
Accompanied by Deputy Commissioner Doda Harvinder Singh, DIG DKR Dr Sunil Gupta, DIG Traffic Jammu, Sridhar Patil, Transport Commissioner Jammu, Chief Engineer PWD, SSP Doda, SSP Traffic, Executive Engineers and other officials, the Div com conducted thorough assessment and discussed immediate safety measures to prevent such mishaps in the future.
The Div Com directed the Executive Engineer PWD to identify and compile a list of black spots along the Highway and other roads in the district. To enhance the road safety, he instructed concerned officers to raise the crash barrier height and install signages and mirrors to improve visibility and awareness on the roads.
After comprehensive assessment and discussion with the experts, he asked the stakeholder departments to take every possible step to ensure the safety of commuters and prevent future mishaps on the roads of Doda.
Later, the Divisional Commissioner visited Government Medical College & Hospital Doda and inquired about the condition of those injured in the accident.
Senior doctors apprised the Div Com about the health status of injured and medical procedures being followed. The Div Com directed the District administration to appoint a nodal officer for coordination and to take care of the injured at Associated Hospital GMC Doda. It was informed that 15 injured were admitted to GMC Doda for treatment and all are stable.
He directed the Hospital Administration to provide best possible medical care and assistance to injured persons for their speedy recovery.
Later, Ramesh Kumar chaired the Road Safety Committee meeting in the Conference Hall of the DC office complex to assess the cause and discuss future Safety measures to minimize such fatal road accidents.
Instructions were passed to post a senior doctor and paramedic in the CHC Assar and a station a critical care/ Advanced Life Support Ambulance between Assar and Khellani to strengthen the rescue and response system to attend to the emergency situations and to minimise the loss of life.
The Div Com asked ARTO to take strict action against the defaulters and habitual traffic rule violators, besides increasing the roadside checking of vehicles and drivers.
The PWD, PMGSY, and NHIDCL authorities were directed to install proper crash barriers, signages, speed limit monitors, and other safety equipment along all the black spots for the safety and awareness of the commuters.
The Divisional Commissioner further asked for strengthening control rooms, Inter-District coordination and health care infrastructure in the erstwhile District Doda. He asked to have an updated and active blood donors group, disaster response teams and local rescue volunteers. He impressed upon the district authority to arrange for advance training of Civil Defense volunteers, and general public for immediate rescue response when required. He emphasized immediate audit of the causes of accidents and casualties by the designated officers drawn from Civil, Police, MVD, Health, and Traffic Department.